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AP Photo / Thanassis Stavrakis
Upd 13:49 The model with which retail will reopen, when epidemiological data allow, is under the government’s “microscope,” and the picture will become clear in a week.
In this context, the “barometer” is expected to be epidemiological data from Wednesday and Thursday, before the final presentation that the committee traditionally makes on Friday, before official announcements.
Such as reported to moneyreview.gr government sourcesIf the epidemiological picture continues to show decompression trends and the experts turn on the “green light”, then it is not ruled out that as of Monday, March 1, retail will reopen in the capital. However, given the information about an increase in cases Tuesday, it appears that it is moving away.
According to market participants, the restart scenario on March 8 was the most frequent until this morning.
Nevertheless, no decision should be taken for granted, since on the table there is always the possibility of extending the existing regime for at least more than 28the February, something that, after all, in recent days has been suggested by many scientists.
However, according to the information, the government’s intention is to have a good opportunity to reopen the retail business as normal, without the click-away and click-inside restrictions, but obviously with strict compliance with security measures.
New 5 digits under consideration
Furthermore, according to sources from the Athens Chamber of Commerce, the government is considering a special five-digit number for purchases only, which will in fact have a fixed duration.
In the design special procedure relating only to retail and citizen markets and with a deadline Digital Government Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis was also mentioned. “We are currently considering measures specific to retail. We want, together with Mr. Georgiadis and Mr. Papathanasis, technological measures that allow the retail market to open faster so that both the market and the economy can function,” he said . interview on the radio station Parapolitika fm.
Based on the statements of Mr. Pierrakakis, the application will not be related to the five-digit 13033 that remains the same, as highlighted. Asked if this function will be integrated into the e-Consumer application, he replied that “it is a possibility, there are other possibilities.”
As noted on Tuesday morning at SKAI, the president of the Athens hospital physicians – Piraeus Matina Pagoni, “perhaps this confinement is the last”, highlighting, however, that the condition is the reduction of cases below 1,000.
“We can see the opening next Monday, but it will depend on the numbers we have this week,” he added, while, regarding what will open first, he said that “priority will be given as the previous one in elementary schools.” and at the same time opening the market with a click of distance “.
Also read: Activation of ICU beds
Strong punch
The fact that retail is closed in Attica, where more than 60% of the total turnover of the sector is produced, but also in several other areas of the country, means large losses not only for the commercial companies themselves, which are estimated to be they have managed to save on average only 1/3 of the turnover of winter discounts, but also for the state itself.
It is estimated that the weekly cost for the state with closed trade is 500 million euros, since the absence of sales means that there is no VAT revenue and at the same time the state is loaded with measures to support closed businesses.
At the same time, it is clear that solutions that could provide an outlet for retail and especially small businesses in the sector are not making headway. A teleconference held yesterday under the direction of the Deputy Minister of Development Giannis Tsakiris, with the participation of representatives of the local government and commerce, revealed the existence of important delays in the execution of most of the projects of the “open malls”, which have been included and are financed by the operational program “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship, Innovation” (EPANEK). The teleconference discussed possible immediate actions to facilitate and accelerate their implementation, with the aim of supporting small and medium commercial enterprises in the current difficult situation.
Winter discounts by extension
Nevertheless, The government is reportedly positive about the business world’s request for an extension of winter discounts until March 31 and it remains to be seen in the coming days if the corresponding regulation will proceed.
Of course, for this extension to make sense, retail should reopen in Attica no later than March 8, and not based on the well-known hybrid click-away and click-in-shop models, but on the classic physical store form, as it happened on January 18.
